Ceiling mounting arrangement

ABSTRACT

An arrangement to enable mounting heavy loads, such as large screen television receivers, to suspended ceilings. The arrangement includes a box-like section that replaces a ceiling tile and is supported between the runners of the suspended ceiling. The box-like section is attached to a pair of support bars that bridge a plurality of runners thereby distributing the weight of the load which is suspended from the box-like section.

[ 5] Jan. 1,1974

United States Patent [191 Griffing CEILING MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT Attorney-Irwin C. Alter et al.

L W a F C e c n P e m m m E a .m n P d R k .mO m m0. L6 0|. 2 8 g mm e f onH mm W M0 r WP n o t n e v n l .l 6 7 221 Filed: Feb. 25, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 229,521

An arrangement to enable mounting heavy loads, such as large screen television receivers, to suspended ceilings. The arrangement includes a box-like section that replaces a ceiling tile and is supported between the runners of the suspended ceiling. The box-like section 48 3 Sn d M74 5W4 8 9 4 5, 4 22 55/ 2 5 m; U "8 "E "2 WWI mnm mmm9 nuu unu nn z unc 8 ""8 Us l hf C WM .w UHF HUN 555 [56] References Cited is attached to a pair of support bars that bridge a plurality of runners thereby distributing the weight of the UNITED STATES PATENTS load which is suspended from the box-like section.

52/484 X 52/484 X 11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 3,352,071 ll/l967 Sutter 3,329,387 7/!967 Fischer.......

1 CEILING MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT This invention relates to load'suspension means and more particularly to ceiling mounting arrangements for safely attaching relatively heavy loads directly to suspended ceilings.

Suspended ceilings are not only aesthetically pleasing but are also functional in that, among other things, they provide a region that is ideally suited for concealing piping and conduit.

Another feature of the suspended ceilings is the insulation advantage that they add to regular ceilings.

A big drawback in such suspended ceilings, in the past, has been the inability of the suspended ceiling to support any substantial weight. Thus to support anything of substance from the ceiling it was necessary to attach it to the joists of the fixed ceiling.

There are known systems for hanging elements such as light fixtures from the runners of the suspended ceiling without attaching directly to the fixed ceiling. These known systems are incapable of bearing a heavy load such as a large screen television set.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide suspension means for supporting heavy loads from suspended ceilings without the necessity of attaching the heavy load directly to the joists of the fixed or main ceiling.

A related object of the present invention is to support heavy loads from the mainrunners of the suspended ceiling in a manner such that the load support system may be easily dismantled and moved to another location without the necessity of having to dismantle the suspended ceiling.

In many instances, heavy loads, such as large screen television receivers are suspended from the ceiling. For example, in class rooms to provide closed circuit television viewing for an. entire classroom. Another example is the television facilities in hospital rooms. Until now it has been necessary to support the television sets from the fixed or main ceiling. Thus, whenever there was a rearrangement of the room it was necessary for the workmen to dismantle part of the suspended ceiling in order to be able to adequately reach the main ceiling and reattach the television support system to the main ceiling.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a system that enables attached heavy loads to be expeditiously moved to a different location. I

A further object of the present invention is to provide a suspension system for supporting heavy loads from suspended ceilings without the necessity for using special tools, such as drills or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for distributing the weight of the heavy load through a plurality of main runners on both sides of the load while supporting the heavy load in a stable manner, such that it may be pivoted up and down or rotated about a vertical axis without causing any warp in the suspended ceiling.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a suspension system for heavy loads that cooperates with suspended ceilings in an aesthetic manner by blending into the general background of the ceiling.

A further object. of the invention is to provide a suspension arrangement for mounting heavy loads to the ceiling in a manner that is not complex in construction,

2 that is inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and easy to apply.

A preferred embodiment of the ceiling mounting arrangement comprises'a box-like section, the size of a regular tile. The box-like section is mounted between the runners where the load is to be suspended. The boxlike section is attached to a pair of support bars through the use of support brackets. The support bars each bridge a plurality of runners that are maintained in parallel spaced apart arrangement. Thus, to mount the heavy load the original ceiling tile is removed from between the runners and the box-like structure is substituted in its place. The support bars distribute the weight of the load so that the load is carried not only by the runners peripherally surrounding the box-like section, but also by each of the main runners over which the support bars are bridged. A yoke assembly is rotatably attached to the box-like section for firmly but pivotally grasping theheavy load.

The above enumerated and other objects and features of the present invention will be more evident from the following explanation of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the ceiling mounting arrangement utilized for supporting a large screen television set from a suspended ceiling;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the ceiling mounting arrangement showing the main elements of suspeneded ceiling and mounting arrangements, and

FIG. 3 is a portion of the top of the yoke shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows a heavy load, such as a large screen television set 11, supported by a suspended ceiling generally designated as 12. The suspension system comprises a yoke assembly for positioning the set for maximum viewability. The yoke assembly includes a yoke and bracket arrangement 13.

Means are provided for attaching the yoke assembly to the ceiling. That means is shown as a box-like support section 14. The decor of the box-like yoke support section 14 blends into the suspended ceiling decor and reliably supports the load of the television set. The ceiling tiles, such as tile 16, are supported by runners, such as main runner 17, and auxiliary transverse side runners such as runner 18. Similarly the section 14 is also supported by the runners.

The yoke assembly 13 comprises a U-shaped yoke 19 which is rotatably mounted from box-like structure 14 using a threaded fastener such as fastener 21 (FIG. 3) extending from the horizontal portion of the U-shaped structure 19. An A bracket 22 is pivotally attached to the yoke 19 at pivot points such as pivot point 23. The bracket 22 has horizontal lips 24 depending from the vertical A frame. Fasteners, such as fastener 26, assure that the television set 11 does not slide on the horizontal lips 24. Thus the yoke assembly 13 can pivot and rotate to assure maximum visibility for a maximum num-- The runners l7 and 1711 along with transverse auxiliary runners, such as runners l8 and 18a, define one square in which a tile is normally held. However, it is necessary to suspend the heavy load from the ceiling, such as for example the television set previously described, then a ceiling tile is removed and means are positioned for spreading the load over a plurality of runners. More particularly, support bars or bridge members 27 and 28 are placed transverse to the main runners and parallel to the auxiliary runners that define a square. In a preferred embodiment, the support bars 27 and 28 extend over more than two main runners and are made of steel tubing to assure that they are rigid and will not buckle.

Means such as hook brackets 29, 30, 31 and 32 are provided for expeditiously attaching the yoke support section 14 to the support bars. The hook brackets are shown as inverted .l shaped brackets designed to securely fit over the squared support bars. The brackets are fixed to the boxlike section 14 using any well known fasteners, such as sheet metal screws, to go through apertures, such as aperture 33 which is aligned with aperture 34 in the box-like member 14;

The box-like section is supported by the runners of the suspended ceiling which are generally inverted T- bars. The horizontal flanges support either the ceiling tile or in this case the box-like section. However, the weight that is suspended from the box-like section is also distributed by the support bars which bridge a plurality of main runner members.

The connection to the support bars of the box-like section is made through the hook-like brackets. The brackets are attached to the box section before it is mounted to the ceiling. Then the support bars are put in place and the box-like section with brackets attached is positioned with the brackets over the support bars. Thus, as shown, the support bars are positioned by the brackets. The yoke is then positioned with threaded member 21 placed through aperture 36. A fastening means such as wing nut 37 is threaded onto the fastener 21 to tighten the position of the yoke in the box-like member. The television set is then hoisted up to be positioned in the A frame bracket 22 and is fastened in place with fasteners through apertures such as 26.

As with all suspended ceilings, the main runners are supported from joists in the fixed ceiling by tie wires, such as tie wire 38. The support bars spread the weight evenly over the plurality of runners covered by each of the support bars and the yoke assembly enables the movement of the television set to provide maximum visibility.

The foregoing describes one exemplary embodiment of the invention. However, other modifications will suggest themselves to those who are skilled in the art. Therefore, the appended claims are to be construed broadly enough to cover all equivalents falling within the true scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A system for supporting heavy loads from suspension ceilings,

the suspension ceilings having load bearing runners supported from joists,

auxiliary runners normal to the longitudinal direction of said load bearing runners and supported therefrom to form rectangular areas,

said system comprising support bars transverse to a plurality of said load bearing runners,

support means coupling at least two of said support bars for supporting said heavy loads to thereby effectively disperse said load,

said support means having at least two spaced apart parallel vertical walls, a horizontal panel extending between said vertical wall means coupled to said panel for holding said heavy loads, and

at least one of said vertical walls being contiguous to one of said load bearing runners.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein yoke assembly means are provided for adjusting the position of said heavy load.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said support means is contiguous to adjacent ones of said auxiliary runners.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said support means is also contiguous to adjacent ones of said main runners.

5. A system for supporting heavy loads from suspension ceilings,

the suspension ceilings having main runners suspended from joists,

auxiliary runners normal to the longitudinal direction of the main runners and supported therefrom to form rectangular areas normally filled by ceiling tiles,

said system comprising support bars transverse to a plurality of said main runners,

support means coupling at least two of said support bars for supporting said heavy loads to thereby effectively disperse said loads,

said support means being contiguous to adjacent ones of said main runners and said auxiliary runners,

said support means comprising a box-like structure having a bottom wall approximating the size of the ceiling tiles and juxtaposed to the flanges of the main runners and the auxiliary runners to fill the rectangular space normally filled by the ceiling tile, and

the bottom wall of said box-like structure further having side walls extending upwards therefrom.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said heavy loads are directly supported by a yoke assembly,

yoke assembly coupling means for coupling said yoke assembly to said box-like structure,

said yoke assembly coupling means enabling selectively rotating said heavy loads around a vertical axis and said yoke assembly enabling rotating said heavy loads around a horizontal axis. 7. The system of claim 6 wherein said yoke assembly comprises an inverted U-shaped structure,

said U-shaped structure traversing thetop of said loads and extending downward along two sides of said load, and bracket means pivoted to said yokes and reaching beneath said loads for supporting said heavy loads and enabling the rotation of said loads around the horizontal axis. 8. The system of claim 7 wherein said yoke has an integral threaded rod extending upward from the back of the inverted U-shaped structure,

wherein said box-like structure has an aperture in said bottom wall for receiving said threaded rod, and v fastening means for securing said yoke to said boxlike structure.

3,782,065 6 9. The system of claim 5 wherein bracket means are 10. The system of claim 9 wherein said brackets provided for coupling said support bars to said box-like merely hook onto said bars. structure, and 11. The system of claim 10 wherein said bars comsaid brackets connected to the side walls of said boxprise rectangular steel tubing.

like structure and to said support bars. 5 

1. A system for supporting heavy loads from suspension ceilings, the suspension ceilings having load bearing runners supported from joists, auxiliary runners normal to the longitudinal direction of said load bearing runners and supported therefrom to form rectangular areas, said system comprising support bars transverse to a plurality of said load bearing runners, support means coupling at least two of said support bars for supporting said heavy loads to thereby effectively disperse said load, said support means having at least two spaced apart parallel vertical walls, a horizontal panel extending between said vertical wall means coupled to said panel for holding said heavy loads, and at least one of said vertical walls being contiguous to one of said load bearing runners.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein yoke assembly means are provided for adjusting the position of said heavy load.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein said support means is contiguous to adjacent ones of said auxiliary runners.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein said support means is also contiguous to adjacent ones of said main runners.
 5. A system for supporting heavy loads from suspension ceilings, the suspension ceilings having main runners suspended from joists, auxiliary runners normal to the longitudinal direction of the main runners and supported therefrom to form rectangular areas normally fillEd by ceiling tiles, said system comprising support bars transverse to a plurality of said main runners, support means coupling at least two of said support bars for supporting said heavy loads to thereby effectively disperse said loads, said support means being contiguous to adjacent ones of said main runners and said auxiliary runners, said support means comprising a box-like structure having a bottom wall approximating the size of the ceiling tiles and juxtaposed to the flanges of the main runners and the auxiliary runners to fill the rectangular space normally filled by the ceiling tile, and the bottom wall of said box-like structure further having side walls extending upwards therefrom.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein said heavy loads are directly supported by a yoke assembly, yoke assembly coupling means for coupling said yoke assembly to said box-like structure, said yoke assembly coupling means enabling selectively rotating said heavy loads around a vertical axis and said yoke assembly enabling rotating said heavy loads around a horizontal axis.
 7. The system of claim 6 wherein said yoke assembly comprises an inverted U-shaped structure, said U-shaped structure traversing the top of said loads and extending downward along two sides of said load, and bracket means pivoted to said yokes and reaching beneath said loads for supporting said heavy loads and enabling the rotation of said loads around the horizontal axis.
 8. The system of claim 7 wherein said yoke has an integral threaded rod extending upward from the back of the inverted U-shaped structure, wherein said box-like structure has an aperture in said bottom wall for receiving said threaded rod, and fastening means for securing said yoke to said box-like structure.
 9. The system of claim 5 wherein bracket means are provided for coupling said support bars to said box-like structure, and said brackets connected to the side walls of said box-like structure and to said support bars.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein said brackets merely hook onto said bars.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein said bars comprise rectangular steel tubing. 